Daryl Dike sets clear health goal as well as West Brom target

The 24-year-old striker has endured rotten luck during his time at The Hawthorns, now three years on from the £7million move from MLS side Orlando City in January 2022.

Dike has spent at least two years sidelined with a string of serious injuries, including a couple of lengthy muscle setbacks and consecutive ruptured Achilles injuries. His recovery from the latter was extended in October with a latest hamstring issue.

The powerful frontman, a 10-cap United States international, is back in team training with the hope of a playing return on the horizon. Last week new boss Tony Mowbray said prior to the Portsmouth clash that an excited Dike is having to be restrained in training as medical staff manage his load.

Dike is not expected to feature for Albion at Plymouth this weekend, before another full week of training next week could potentially have him in the frame for the clash against Sheffield Wednesday, though Mowbray is expected to give another update before then.

Dike, speaking to fitness page Who Next Development on Instagram, gave some lofty personal targets in the years ahead, but clearly his full focus is staying healthy as regularly as possible.

"Hopefully just tons of goals - as a striker I just love to score goals," Dike said when asked what he sees ahead of him.

"I love to celebrate, I love to have fun, I love to win games. Hopefully you'll see me in a World Cup, hopefully you'll see me in Champions League football, you'll see West Brom playing in the Premier League, those are things that are my goals in the next few years.

"And to stay healthy, playing football is something I love doing and have always loved doing, so if I can keep myself on the pitch playing, scoring goals, it's what I always ask for."

Among Dike's four siblings are older brother Bright, a former Nigeria international striker who called time on his career in 2017 around the time he turned 30, and sister Courtney, who also forged a football career which included representing the Super Falcons at a World Cup.

Dike was an Albion recruit of Valerien Ismael, the Frenchman who oversaw his previous loan at Barnsley. Ismael was dismissed that February, though, with Dike having already been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

The striker's first Baggies goal eventually came in a 2-1 win at Sunderland in December 2022 - away at a Sunderland side managed by Mowbray.

Dike has had a number of seasons to adjust to the pace of English football, but action has been restricted to just 32 appearances - 17 of them starts - in three years with the Baggies. He has netted eight goals and is under contract until 2026.

Speaking of playing in England, he added:  "Depending on where you play the football is very very different, I moved from the MLS to obviously where I'm playing now here in Europe.

"Transitioning was a little bit difficult. Speed of play is a little different, it's faster here, even the way they play, sometimes in the Championship the balls are in the air more, it's much more physically demanding, you're battling people for balls here. You have to think a little bit quicker because everyone's faster here.

"That being said, just like any other experience, you can weather any single storm, when you have the right support group around you and mindset that you can overcome any single challenge, you get acclimated to these things and they become more normal, you have to weather the storm of things being difficult."